He also mentions how some twenty years ago, most systemically important payment systems were re-engineered to Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), where individual inter-bank payments were submitted for real-time settlement across the books of central banks at the time of payment initiation. This avoids the accumulation of huge inter-bank risk positions before the end-of-day settlement.

All in all it is intriguing to ask whether the current path of EU liberalised e-invoicing (without B2B mandates) should perhaps be flipped for a path where mandated e-invoicing and fiscal efficiency go hand in hand. (Source)

Hoping to usher in the age of the e-Government, the Cabinet has approved the action plan: Digital Strategy Cyprus.

The objectives of the plan, the Cyprus Mail reports, are to modernise the public sector by operating without paper, simplifying processes, and saving costs, culminating in the provision of a ‘friendlier’ environment with ameliorated bureaucracy for both citizens and businesses alike.

The action plan is also designed to help small businesses with information and communication technologies, and the promotion of e-commerce, providing mass training for the so-called ‘digitally illiterate’.

Digital Strategy Cyprus will see the full computerisation of all municipalities, hospitals, health centers, and the education sector. It furthermore foresees the development of a fiber optic network to Government premises, facilitating much higher speeds.

Approximately 75% of the total costs that will be needed to enact the changes will come from EU funds, a statement from the Cabinet said.
The plan covers a three- year period from 2015 to 2017 and is part of a wider reactivation and restructuring of the economy, hoped to generate jobs.